Martha Does Gloucester

June picked me up Thursday Feb 2nd and we drove to Gloucester, stopping for some set-decorating supplies on the way. We dropped off supplies, but had to wait till a dance class full of itty bitty ballerinas finished using the room before we could turn it into the Theatre. Jennifer came to add her artistic eye to the set: together we made decisions about what went where, set up platforms, put the costume on stage to see if it looked good with the tables and sofa throw. Gordo came with the Gloucester Times to show us the terrific article on us on the front page of the Arts section-- that ought to bring in a few people! We went up and down the street trying to buy copies of the paper so that each of us would have one: it took us several stoips and we may have bought the last four GTimes in town! Serena came to set lights. After a bit of rest I did a full run-through rehearsal but without the piano and Joan. The platforms bounce, and there an uneven seam between where I could fall on my face-- but we decide to deal with that tomorrow. Went to bed early, slept late: Friday's Opening.
In the am I did yoga and tai chi, warmed up my voice and ran my lines. At noon we went to the theatre, Joan and Jeff drove up shortly afterwards, and we puttered till time for Dress. I wanted to start by doing the end, to get the feel of the space and the props which are so different from the other spaces we've played so far: a real theatre. I worried that it would be difficult to make contact with the audience as "scene partner" if the lights were blinding as they'd been the night before, but with the afternoon sun outside it was easy to see the empty seats and imagine people in them. After run-through, June et al went out to eat and I curled up on the rug in the dark theatre to take a nap. Eliza Wyatt came, and we had a quick hug and gossip-- she is leaving for England tomorrow morning, and will have to drive back right after the show. Not a big house, but enough to feel like an audience. All went well, Eliza and June's theatre friends in the audience were full of praise-- Eliza claimed that she and Paul Chi will write me a musical, too-- and June and Joan seemed really pleased and proud. I rode home with Joan and Jeff, and will be picked up by them at 5pm Saturday